Chad Kelly dismissed from Clemson football team

Clemson quarterback Chad Kelly, center, sits on the bench during the second half of the Tigers' NCAA college football spring game at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. on Saturday, Apr. 12, 2014. Head coach Dabo Swinney announced on April 14 that Kelly was dismissed from the team. (AP Photo/Anderson Independent-Mail, Mark Crammer) GREENVILLE NEWS - OUT; SENECA JOURNAL - OUT

After a meeting with coaches on Monday, initial reports were that Kelly was escorted out of Memorial Stadium's WestZone facility by police, but a Clemson spokesman said later those reports were untrue.

Clemson communications announced his dismissal via press release late Monday afternoon with a statement from the Tigers' coach.

"I have dismissed Chad Kelly for conduct detrimental to our program," said Swinney. "He has had a pattern of behavior that is not consistent with the values of our program. I hope he will mature and grow from this and become the man and player I know he can be.

"I wish him nothing but the best in the future academically and athletically."

After Scout site CUTigers.com reported the alleged police escort, Kelly appeared to respond on Twitter.

"That's Crazy Someone Would Lie Like That? Wow Is All Imma Say. Good Thing I Got A Great Family And Close Friends," the Niagara Falls, N.Y. product tweeted.

Up until the spring game Saturday, Kelly was at the forefront of a three-way race to be the Tigers' next starting quarterback.

In that game, however, he struggled – throwing two interceptions and getting benched for the second half after expressing frustration over a coach's call. Kelly was not made available to the media postgame.

Both Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Chad Morris said he didn't "handle adversity" well, but Morris cautioned not to read too much into the spring game performance.

"We know that there's going to be some adversity," Morris said Saturday. "There's going to be some (first team) with twos and threes. You just deal with it. How do you respond? I think he got a little frustrated with it. Got to move forward.

"This doesn't need to be the overshadow of the entire spring. Because he had a good spring. We had a great battle."

According to multiple reports, there was a minor car accident last week involving Kelly that was a part of his eventful weekend. The car belonged to former Miss South Carolina, Ali Rogers, who works in the football program.

Backing up some of those prior reports, Rogers put out a statement broadcast on Facebook and Twitter saying Kelly got out of the car and asked her not to file a report. "He became very agitated and was extremely disrespectful," Rogers said. "As proud as I am to be part of the Clemson Football Program, it was very disheartening that he showed no remorse for his behavior."

There was no response from Kelly as he had deleted his Twitter account not long after the day's events.

A four-star prospect out of St. Joseph's (N.Y.), Kelly redshirted in 2012 and then suffered a torn ACL in the 2013 spring game after a heated backup quarterback competition.

His recovery from the major knee injury was remarkable in that he was on the field for Clemson's second game in 2013. He played in five games, completing 10-of-17 passes for 58 yards. Known as a dual-threat, Kelly was second on the team in rushes of 20 yards or more (3), totaling 117 yards and a touchdown.

His departure leaves senior Cole Stoudt as the favorite to take hold of the spot left by multiple school-record holder Tajh Boyd. True freshman mid-year enrollee Deshaun Watson is set to compete with him after sitting out the next couple weeks with a broken collarbone.